beyond google. advanced web searching

Beyond GoogleAdvanced Websearching

Evergreen Training 2.9.2008

Ines Seidel, Finpro

/ 2Beyond Google/Evergreen Training / © Finpro ry

Plan for Today

1. You and the Question

2. Google & Other Search Engines

3. Coffee anyone?

4. Invisible Web, Useful Sites & Tools


‘The Question’ ‘The Answer’

Secondary Data

Story

Lining

Data

Gathering

Primary Data

Efficient data gathering is a success factor for

projects!


Be a Detective

• Ask lots of questions

• Stay flexible

• Have the satisfaction of your

client in mind

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http://www.sxc.hu/photo/968046


What?

• Open question vs. Closed

question?

• Key words; synonym search

terms; likely phrases

• What form could the data have

on a webpage (e.g. table,

picture, list of conference

participants,…be creative!)


Who and where?

• Who would write about or collect

information you need (e.g.

statistical offices, associations,

banks,…)

• Where could the data you need

be? (e.g. annual report, market

research report, ranking,PhD

thesis…)

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http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=download&id=1231735


The Best Tool: Your Brain

• Doublecheck you understand the task

• Be aware of constraints – time and

money

• Have a focus – don„t get lost in ocean of

data

• Analyze as you go – findings that have

implications on focus/hypothesis/search

strategy need immediate attention

• Be critical - check data quality & source

Transform data into intelligence

What are the dominant ways to treat asthma in South

Africa?

• What?

• Who?

• Where?

What do these questions mean for your search strategy?


Brainstorming Exercise


Plan for Today


2. Google + Other Search Engines

3. Coffee anyone?



Is something wrong with ?


Exercise: How to make results more relevant?

• Check your Google Preferences (language, number of hits per page)

• Advanced search options: e.g. search for surveys/reports about success factors for software implementation in organizations using various options

• Simple Search e.g. pages about market shares of search engines : • Phrase searching with „…“• Reverse order of search terms – what happens?• Enter some search terms two or three times – what

happens?• Proximity search with * e.g. „search engines“ * statistics• Include Filetype: e.g. „search engines“ „market share“

+filetype: pdf

• Google images: Search for „search engine“ „market shares“


Preferences

• Adapt language settings to current needs

• Display more than 10 results – danger of missing

relevant (but not so high ranking) content

• Open search results in separate browser – easier to

refine search strategy


Advanced Search: Using Alternatives


Advanced Search – some options

539.000 hits

6.650 hits

637.000 hits

318.000 hits


Google Images: Sometimes great for

finding stats

Always follow up

source if you rely on

others„ graphics!


Advanced search options only???

• Start broad, narrow

down later

• Try several

approaches

• There is more to

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Google

• Google Toolbar

• Google Cheat sheet

• Google Alerts

• Google Scholar

• Not to forget: Google News, Google Images, Google

Blog Search

http://toolbar.google.com/

http://www.google.com/help/cheatsheet.html

http://www.google.com/alerts

http://scholar.google.com/advanced_scholar_search?hl=en&lr


Google Alternatives

• Try them on!

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Thumbshots Ranking

• Start: http://ranking.thumbshots.com/


Exalead

• Start: http://www.exalead.com/

http://www.exalead.com/


Zuula

• Start: www.zuula.com

• Compare search results across search engines, for

blogs, pictures, videos, news

http://www.zuula.com/



Exercise: Google Alternatives?

• Go to http://ranking.thumbshots.com/ - compare

results for a search term of your choice. How much

overlap is there between search results of 2 selected

search engines?

• www.exalead.com: search for search engines –

study suggestions for refining search on the right.

Try some of them

• www.zuula.com: search for “top search engines” –

note how result pages differ (e.g. sponsored links,

availability of related searches)

http://ranking.thumbshots.com/






Plan for Today


2. Google + Other Search Engines

3. Coffee anyone?



The Invisible Web

= also referred to as deep or hidden Web

= internet content that is not indexed by

search engines (e.g. because

registration needed)

= assumed to be 500 times larger than

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How to access the invisible?

Be a Detective (again!)

• Directories

• Specialized Search Engines

• Topic specific databases

• Format specialists: Videos,

Microblogs, Powerpoint,…

• Web2.0: Social Bookmarking,

Blogs,..

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Exercises: People Search

• Which sites does the Librarian‟s index to the internet

(www.lii.org) recommend for people search

(attention: very slow page! Alternative: look in google

for “people search engines”)

• Try one or two of people search engines searching

for „Jorma Turunen“ and your own name

http://www.lii.org/


Exercise: Crowdsourcing Answers

• Go to Yahoo Answers

http://answers.yahoo.com/.

• Search for questions that have already been

answered – use Advanced Search e.g. Russia

– Category Business & Finance:

• What type of questions? How helpful are the

answers?

• When would you use Yahoo Answers?

http://answers.yahoo.com/


Exercise: Finding Relevant Blogs

• Go to www.alltop.com (a directory for blogs)

• find the category “social media”

• Can you find recent blogs/postings that are relevant

for newspapers?

• When would you read these blogs?

http://www.alltop.com/


Exercise: Is this the WTO homepage?

• Check www.gatt.org; have a look at information at

www.alexa.com

http://www.gatt.org/

http://www.alexa.com/


Still time?

• Try to find specialist search engines for a topic of

your choice

• Try out www.Cuil.com – search engine that started a

few weeks ago as THE Google competitor

http://www.cuil.com/


Thank-you!

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beyond google. advanced web searching

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